Welcome Back - 2017 Here We Come!

Here's hoping that you had a wonderful Christmas, a nice break, and that your New Year is off to a great start!!!

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Friday, Jan. 6th—Next visit to the Library

-Monday, Jan. 16th—Delayed Start

-Thursday, Jan. 19th—1/2 Day—Dismissal @ 11:55

-Friday, Jan. 20th—1/2 Day & Sledding Party???

-Friday, January 27th—Report Cards Home & Homecoming Game

BOOK-IT/HOLIDAY HOMEWORK:

Please be sure to return your child’s December Book-it Calendar so that I can award Pizza Hut certificates and their Holiday Homework, if they chose to participate:)

ASSESSMENTS:

The end of the marking period is fast approaching; we will be assessing many skills during the next 3 weeks for report cards. Students will also be reassessed on DIBELS (letters, sounds, segmenting, & blending) and AIMSWEB (math concepts) to monitor their progress. We will be taking the NWEA computer-based assessment later in the month.

SLEDDING PARTY:

We are tentatively planning our annual sledding party for Friday, January 20th, but I am NOT telling the students until it gets closer in case the weather doesn’t cooperate:)  We will go outside around 10:45, sled for a half hour with the other Kindergarten classes, and then come back inside for hot chocolate before going home @ 11:55. I am looking for a couple of parents, or grandparents, who would be willing to come in around 10:30 and help. I could use a couple people willing to go outside and push kids down the hill AND at least 1 person to stay inside and prepare our hot chocolate. Please let me know if you are willing and available to help out!

READING:

This week our class will be reading stories about how a community changes their environment—such as by building roads, playgrounds, and community gardens—to improve it. *Our new auditorium is a great example of this:) Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing:

· Vocabulary—community & improve—Take a walk or drive around your community. Point out ways that the community is working hard to improve.

· Sightwords—Review -  do, go, to, and, you & up—Write each work on paper and ask your child to trace them. Then write a sentence using each word.

· Category Words—position words—Play Simon Says using position words such as up, down, over, under, front, back, first, next, and last.

· Phonics—Review -  Letters Ii, Nn, Cc, Oo, & Dd—Play a guessing game with your child. Ask them to think of things that begin with each letter.

· Comprehension: key details in sequence—Read a short story to your child. Then ask them retell the story in order using the words first, then, next, & last.

· Beanie Baby Strategies—This week we will introduce a new comprehension strategy— Digger Dog who reminds us to dig for the ‘big idea,’ the most important details, and the author’s purpose in the texts that we read.

WRITING: 

We will continue to work on writing pattern books, this week we will focus on using a see-saw pattern.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will be reading several stories related to Winter and snow. We will also be discussing appropriate winter clothing for staying warm while having fun in the snow.

MATH: 

This week we will explore numbers 1-100 using a Number Grid and the Counting Board App. We will also practice finding different combinations for making 10, as well as identifying and writing our numbers 1-20.

 Please be sure to return your

Child’s Blanket for Rest Time.